Attachable sleigh-shoe for vehicle-wheels.



J; E. HOBBS. ATTAGHABLE SLEIGH SHOE FOR VE HIGLE WHEELS. APPLIOATIGK FILED APR.11, 1911.

1,127,762, PatentedFeb.9,l 915.

1 JOHN E. HGBBS, OF NORTH BERWICK, MAINE.

ATTACHABLE SLEIGH-SHOE FOR VEHICLE-WHEELS.

Specification of Lettersliatent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1%15.

Application filed April 11, 1911. $eria1No. 620,433,'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it linown that'I, JOHN E. Hones, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Ncrth Bel-wick, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachable Sleigh-Shoes for Vehicle-ldheels, of which the following is a specification.

. My invention relates to sleigh runners or shoes for vehicle wheels, and the general object of the invention is to provide improved devices of this character to be secured to the wheels of vehicles in general, and especially to wheels of automobiles or motor vehicles, in icy or snowy weather, thus practically converting such vehicles into sleighs.

' A further object of the invention is to provide improved attachments of the character described especially suited for use on the front, or steering --vg heels of motor or other vehicles in order to accommodate the motion of such wheels during the turning about, or around corners. 7

It. further object of the invention is to provide, for general use on the wheels of the vehicles referred to, improved IHIIIlBISeOI shoes which are light, inexpensive, of grace ful form and capable of being quickly and easily applied to or removed from the Wheels.

.Vith these objects in View, the invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement and combination of the parts of an article of the character mentioned, all as hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In order that the construction and operation of the invention may be readily comprehended, I will now proceed to specifi cally describe it, in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 represents a view in side elevation of a detached automobile Wheel having one of my improved'shoes secured in position thereon. Fig. 2 represents a transverse sectional view taken through the rim portion of the Wheel and through the cradle and runner. -Fig. 3 represents a detail perspective view of the cradle, detached. Fig.

4 represents a plan view, partly diagiiimma tic, of an axle having a pair of automobile wheels journaled on the spindles with improved shoes secured to the Wheels and couple" together for ]O1Illl operation. 1

Like characters; of reference mark the same parts Wherever they occur in any of the figures of the drawing.

Referring specifically to the drawing, 10, Fig. 4., indlcates any ordinary form of axle for anautomobile Wheel I provided with spindles 11- connected thereto by knuckle joints 12, said spindles carrying wheels 1-3 of any preferred form suitable for motor vehicles, the wheels beingprovided with ordinary spokesle, as shown in Fig. 1', of

any preferred form, as well as tires and rims of any, ordinary construction-as may be desired by the user.

At 15: is shown a strip of any ordinary iron, suitable to form the bottom of shoes or runners, said strip being straight for the greater portion of its length and bent up at its front and rear ends to conform to the shape of the main body or base 16 of the shoe to the bottom of which it is attached by any suitable means. Disposed between the strip 15 and main body 16 of the base of the runner is -a strip 15, which, as best shown in Figs 2, extends laterally u on o posits sides of the parts 15 and 16 o the ass of the runner. This results in a comparatively wide shoe composed" of the parts 15,.1dand 15. This shoe is thus rendered Wide by virtue of the stri 15 and provides a wide path for the driving wheels in deep snow.

At 17 is shown in perspective in Fig. 3,

what I denominate, acradle consisting of a thin piece of plate or sheet metal comprising a main portion or base and an upright flan e upon each side thereof, at right angles to t e base and parallel with each other.

Suitably secured upon the main body or base 16, are two triangular blocks of wood 18, the adjacent faces of which are seated within the sidefianges of the cradle 17,

while the upperfaces serve as a base upon which rests the tire of a wheel 13.

Secured upon the top of the front and rear upturned ends of the wooden .base or body 16 of the shoe are two.$-shaped strips or braces 19, the securing means being bolts or similar fastenings, 20, which may pass entirely through the base or body 16 and tread 15 and serve to hold said tread, body,

and braces together.

The. unattached ends 21 of the braces v19. are turned downward to rest under the tires of the wheel 13 at points below the horizontal level of the hub or-axle, and these ends 21 are secured in position on the tire of the wheel by means of double leather straps 22 which pass around the braces and the tire and run of the wheel, and over the horizontal spokes 14, thus serving to securely support the shoe in vertical position, leather straps being preferred for this purpose on account of flexibility, ease of applr' cation, and non-liability ofmarring the finislied' surfaces of the wheel with which they come in contact.

In Fig. 4:, I have shown a pair of my improved shoes coupled together or conjoined by means of a coupling rod 23 which carries at each end a metal strap 24 secured by bolts j or other suitable fastenings 25, said straps formingloops to pass over vertical pins 26 projecting upward from the upturned end of the body or base 15 of the shoe Thecradle may or'may not be provided 4 with supports for the wheel tire to takethe place of the wooden blocks 18. a When so provided, thesesupports consist of a piece of metal hoop fitting upon the periphery of the tire for substantially two-fifths of its circumference as indicated at 27 in Fig. 3,

the same bein readily secured to the base ofthe cradle b suitable fastenings. WVhen this metallic support for the tire is used, the wooden blocks 18 may be also used in which instance they will be slipped in between the base of the cradle and the metal support 27.

The joint between the. coupling rod 23 and the upright pins 26 of the shoes is pivotal or swiveled sothat when the wheels Such shoes as herein described can be manufactured at substantially one-half the cost of hub runners, and can be as quickly and easily applied and removed. They may be used on all kinds of business wagons in cities and towns where frequent changes from wheels to runners are necessary and y means of rivets or other they may be used to advantage on fire ap paratus. t 1 p The provision of the coupling bar prevents wabbling and strain on the gear dur- Y ing the lateral movement of the wheels while turning in the act of steering or skidding and the coupling rod is made sufficiently stiff to resist any -sidewise thrust on the ends of the shoes, and is preferably made of wood. In horse drawn vehicles a whifiietree 28 should be applied to the. bar

pling bar is mounted may consist of the v ends of the wooden base itself, or they may be metal pinsattached thereto. instance, the pins will be covered with leather to preventlrattling. a

, It will be obvious to those skilled in'the art, that various changes may be made in the construction of the several parts de- In either I scribed, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I

Having thus fully described my inven- 7 S0 7 tion, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis: I

The. combination with a wheel and a sleighrunner, of a cradle attached to said runner, said. cradle being substantially U- "shaped in cross section and having opposite side members engaging the opposite. sides of the wheel, blocksattached to said runner and having opposite portions engaging the endsof the cradle and retaining the latter in position upon said runner, said blocks engaging the opposite sides of the cradle and preventing lateral movementof said cradle, said blocks having upper curved faces conforming to the curvature of the wheel, re- 'silient strips attached to the opposite ends of the-runner, said resilient strips having straight intermediate ends,.the' innerof whic engages the wheel and conforms to the curvature of the latter, and means for attaching said resilient strips Jenn s. Hoses.

Witnesses to the wheel.

Annie M. GRAY, ELIZABETH K. Hoses.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents Washington, D. Q.

ortions and curved Correction in Letters Pateni No. 1,127,762a

&

It is hereby certified that iii Lebtersfatnt No. 1,127,762, granted February 9,

1915, upoi; the appligation of J hn E. Hobbs, GfNorth Ber-wick, Maine, for an improyemnt' in Attachable Sleigi i shoes f br ve hicle -wheels, an error appears in the Qrinted specifiation rquifing correction asivfollowsz Page l line 51., for

the word ,plan pead 'pld'ne and that ihe' sai dLetters Patent should be read with this correction thel' ein that the same may-conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sea led this; 23rd dy of March, A. DJ, 1915.

i J. T. NEWTON,

Acting Commz'sz'oner of Patents.

[SEAL] 

